While you might already know basic ice skating techniques, it never hurts to learn more and even brush up on some of your older skills.

With hockey season quickly approaching in the coming months, now is the time to get out on the ice and tighten up those ice skating techniques:

Advice for Improving Ice Skating Techniques

1. Do ice skating exercises.

You are probably thinking that I mean get out on the ice and exercise or skate around…

Wrong.

There are several exercises that can be done in the gym that will improve your ice skating techniques.

Exercises such as the goblet squat or rear-foot-elevated split-squat strengthen your legs and hips and also stretch those muscles used when skating in the proper position.

2. Continuously practice backward skating.

Backward skating is undoubtedly one of the most difficult skating techniques to master, however, it is incredibly useful. Backward skating is especially important when playing solid defense in a game….

A few tips to consider when practicing your backward skating are to keep your back straight and eyes looking forward, push one leg at a time and use all your body weight for each stride, and try to avoid swiveling your hips – maintaining as straight of a line as possible.